Next up was fixing the neckline. The lace was SO big because the elastic that used to hold it in place had worn out. I decided to replace the elastic to keep the essence of the original dress. Nothing like a lace-dripped neckline!

I took my seam ripper and opened up a few stitches at the lacy neckline, pulled out the old elastic, added the new elastic with a safety pin, and fit it to my liking.

I pinned the edges of the elastic to each side of the dress to prep for sewing it in place.

I removed the bow that was in the center of the dress because I knew that I was most definitely not going to make a bow with it.

After the ribbon removal, it was time to adjust the length. I wanted to get rid of the crazy ruffles at the bottom of the piece, so I cut it off!

Lots of leftovers to be played with down the road...

I trimmed the lining next...

...and then sewed everything in place - a new hem and the new elastic at the neck.

For just a little piece of flair, because I removed the ribbon that once was stitched in this place, I added a little patch with a safety pin.

It's the best when friends come in from other states to ring in the holidays!!

It was cold for Los Angeles, so there was definitely jacket action happening. I just took my coat off for a few photo ops, including this one that makes me feel like I should be in the Blair Witch Project.

The rest of the outdoor pics turned out much nicer. AKA, less Marisa-disturbing-face.

JS kept calling his sweater the "Andie" as it was literally the same sweater that Anne Hathaway gets called out for wearing in The Devil Wears Prada.

I mean...

We couldn't stop laughing about it!!

Such a fun night to celebrate the holidays with some of my favorite people.